BT cash earnings edge up

Westpac Group’s first half-year results have been boosted with BT Financial Group (BFTG) reporting cash earnings of $451 million, a two per cent increase on the same period last year.

BTFG chief executive Brad Cooper said the results placed the division in a positive position for the second half of the year and emphasised its commitment to adviser relationships.

“Our continued focus on helping Australians prepare for their best financial future and our disciplined approach to the execution of our strategy positions us well for the second half of the year,” he said.

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“We look forward to continuing our strong industry partnerships and working with advisers to deliver the best outcomes to suit their business models and their clients’ objectives.”

The group's funds under management (FUM) were up 26 per cent in the period and funds under advice (FUA) were up 17 per cent, which contributed to $61 million in revenue.

BTFG’s platforms maintained the number one ranking for market share with 19.9 per cent. It is also ranked number one on retail super (excluding cash) with 18.8 per cent.

Since launching in 2011, Asgard Infinity reached $8.7 billion in FUA and BT Panorama has seen over $1 billion in FUA, with 60 per cent coming from new business relationships.

Mr Cooper said that its new investment platform, BT Panorama, was resonating with both advisers and clients.

“We have more than 1,000 advisers using BT Panorama, more than $1 billion in FUA and in March, we launched a new managed portfolio facility which was very well received at our national BT Adviser Forums,” he said.

Despite this positive result, a spike in claims saw insurance income down to $22 million, a nine per cent drop from the same period last year due primarily to the Brisbane hail storm and Cyclone Marcia.

However the BTFG maintained that BT’s status was as “a growing franchise”.

Life in-force premiums and general insurance gross written premium growth were 13.0 per cent and 8.0 per cent respectively. Life insurance maintained its industry leading lapse rate of 12.8 per cent (September 2014) against market rate of 16.3 per cent.

Private Wealth’s revenue was up 13 per cent and the global investment service reached $1.3 billion in FUA since launching in 2012.

BT Financial Group's parent company, Westpac, reported a net profit of $3.609 billion for the half year to 31 March 2015, which was down $13 million from the corresponding period.

Cash earning sat at $3.778 billion, up $6 million on the first half of 2014.

A net interim dividend of 93 cents per Westpac ordinary share was also determined, increasing three per cent on the 2014 interim dividend.